Loving Earth's Sorcerer Supreme
by Kaluu
Summary: Love is never easy for a superhero. It's even harder for Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. This is basically the story of Doctor Strange and the Night Nurse breaking up.


Doctor Strange returned with hair disheveled and tunic in disarray. His Cloak of Levitation hung itself up on a coat hanger next to the trench coats as if it were a normal jacket. It didn't want to be special. It just wanted to be a nice normal cloak that kept its wearer warm in the winter.

Linda wore a nice simple black babydoll. She'd already been waiting for hours. The sun was already coming up.

"Stephen, I was worried about you," Linda said softly, as if speaking too loudly would hurt him.

"I was worried about you too." Stephen stripped.

"Liar." Linda gave him a kiss and then led him to a nearby chair, where she examined his injuries.

"Oh, trust me, I was." Stephen tried to smile but apparently the battle had been too bitter, the price too high. He rarely told her the details, but she had come to recognize that look. "I thought about you and Wong and Luke and Jessica and their baby. I thought about—" He hissed as she applied disinfectant to one of his wounds. "But you're safe. You're all safe."

"You need to rest."

"I'll rest the first year I'm dead," Stephen tried to joke, but it didn't quite sound right. Linda knew he had faced Death as an entity on many occasions. So far, he'd always triumphed, but as Death said, he could lose a billion such battles and Stephen could only lose one.

"Does that mean you're leaving again?" Linda tried not to pout. He tried his best to make her feel important, but she knew she wasn't nearly as important as the world as a whole. Protecting it meant protecting her, but it wasn't the same as being his first priority.

"Not yet."

"Then let me help you rest." She skimmed her hand down his body. He caught her hand.

"No. My body needs to sleep," he said sternly. "And I need to consult the Orb of Agamotto and meditate upon this matter."

"Stephen." Linda knew he didn't mean to hurt her, but sometimes he didn't realize just how strong his grip was, especially when he was still ready to switch into fight or flight mode at any moment. He released her, and his expression softened.

"I'm sorry, Linda. I'll make it up to you this weekend." He took her hand and kissed it.

"Only if the Dark Dimension doesn't invade," Linda said bitterly. "I don't think you've had a free day, much less a free weekend, for over a month."

"I think you're right." Stephen either didn't take the hint or chose to ignore it. He rose and paused when she didn't follow him into bed.

"You smell like fire and brimstone," Linda said by way of a half-hearted explanation. Actually, he smelled like something else, but she didn't really want to know what it was. He nodded and retired to bed without her.

"Linda…" Stephen's astral form rose from his now sleeping body.

"We'll talk later, Stephen," Linda said. "Didn't you say you needed to consult the Orb of Agamotto?" Stephen sighed and nodded. "Good bye, Stephen."

* * *

In the past, Linda would have walked out on her boyfriend. She would have taken all of her stuff and moved into her clinic until she found a new apartment. The problem in this case was that she had moved her clinic into her boyfriend's house.

"Hey, you." Linda looked up. It took her a moment to recognize Captain Marvel without her uniform on.

"Oh, hi, Carol." Linda shoved any thoughts of Stephen into the back of her mind. "What's wrong? You're not one of my usual clients." After all, healing was one of Carol's superpowers.

"Actually, I'm here because of you, not me," Carol said and took a seat next to Linda on the couch. "We don't really know each other all that well, and I'm not really all that good at this girl stuff, but Wong thought you might appreciate the sympathetic ear."

"Oh, Carol." Linda could feel herself tearing up just at the thought of having someone there to support her. "It's just… it's about Stephen. We've been together for who knows how long, and I still feel like I don't know him."

"I've known him for a long time, and I still feel like I don't know him," Carol said and made a face. "To be honest, I don't know if anyone can really know him."

"You see!"

"Well, but love sometimes just doesn't work that way." Carol put a reassuring arm around Linda's shoulders. "Sometimes you just love a person and it doesn't make any sense."

"But he's never there for me. He's never here in general."

"I know. It's the same problem Luke has. It's the same reason most superheroes have dysfunctional love lives. It's as if we're always on call." Carol hugged Linda and then drew back to look her in the eyes. "But Dr. Strange is another matter entirely. I'm not even sure he counts as a superhero. He's something more; he's Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. Being a superhero is like a weekend vacation for him."

"So you think I should break up with him?" Linda asked.

"I would. He's just too strange, no pun intended." Carol smiled. "I don't think it's what Wong expected me to say to you, but I'm just being honest. Besides, he's too old for you. You could easily find someone a lot younger and hotter than him."

"Actually, old or not, he's really good in bed." Linda laughed and swiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "Like, really, really good."

"Ah, the worst kind of lover. The kind that's really hard to break up with." Carol made a face. "Look, why don't you move in with me for a while? It'll make things a little easier."

"Are you sure?"

"Hey, I'm a superhero," Carol said with a smile. "That's what we do: we save lives."

* * *

"How is Linda Carter?" Carol almost jumped out of her skin when the astral projection of Doctor Strange appeared beside her.

"Jeez, Stephen! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Forgive my manners. My time on this astral plane is limited."

Carol took a moment to catch her breath before reporting: "She's doing well. She's all moved in to her new apartment, and her new clinic has been set up too. I think she's practically forgotten about you."

"I've been helping with that," Stephen admitted. "It's better this way."

"So you're just going into her mind and playing with it?" Carol frowned. "It sounds very unethical."

"I can't keep endangering her immortal soul."

"When you put it that way…"

"Thank you, Carol. If you are ever in need of mystic aid, please don't hesitate to ask for the assistance of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme."


End file.
